Prostitution bust: Woman secretly taped sex acts, police allege

Thursday

Jul 12, 2012 at 2:00 AM

KENNEBUNK, Maine — Police said a Thomaston man charged Tuesday with promoting prostitution had an ongoing business and sexual relationship with a Kennebunk Zumba instructor who taped her sexual acts with men identified as "clients" without their knowledge and kept meticulous financial records of her encounters.

Jennfier Feals

KENNEBUNK, Maine — Police said a Thomaston man charged Tuesday with promoting prostitution had an ongoing business and sexual relationship with a Kennebunk Zumba instructor who taped her sexual acts with men identified as "clients" without their knowledge and kept meticulous financial records of her encounters.

In an affidavit filed Tuesday in Biddeford District Court, officer Audra Presby of the Kennebunk Police Department, in requesting an arrest for Mark W. Strong Sr., 56, of 53 Knox St. in Thomaston, purports to detail Strong's alleged relationship with Alexis Wright, the owner of Pura Vida Studio, where court records state prostitution was being promoted for more than a year.

Strong, owner of The Strong Agency, was arrested Tuesday on a warrant charging promotion of prostitution, a Class D misdemeanor, which carries a maximum penalty of a year in jail. Following his arrest, police executed search warrants for Strong's residence on Knox Street and for The Strong Agency, located at 446 Maine St. in Thomaston.

Strong was released Tuesday afternoon from the Knox County Jail on $5,000 bail and is scheduled to appear Sept. 7 in Biddeford District Court. A message left at his office was not returned.

Wright has not been charged, according to Kennebunk Police Lt. Tony Bean Burpee. Bean Burpee said the investigation is ongoing and further arrests are expected.

In an e-mail response to calls for comment, Wright stated, "At this time, I have no comment to make."

She provided the name of her attorney, Sarah A. Churchill of the law firm of Strike, Goodwin and O'Brien in Portland. Churchill also declined to comment.

Court records indicate that Wright's studio has been under police scrutiny for some time, and that both her Kennebunk business addresses and Wells home were searched by police in February.

According to the affidavit filed by Presby, Kennebunk police first received anonymous phone calls from concerned residents about possible suspicious activity occurring at 8 York St., the Pura Vida Studio. Police also heard rumors of "possible prostitution and criminal activities" at the studio, with anonymous individuals providing Wright's name, according to court papers.

The following information was found in the affidavit:

Employees at Toppings Pizza, located next door to the Pura Vida Studio, reported to police that motor vehicles would pull up to the back of the building at all hours of the day and night, with men — occasionally dressed in sports jackets and various business attire — going into the studio and exiting 30 minutes to one hour later. On Dec. 22, a Maine Drug Enforcement Agency agent placed a recorded telephone call to a "Lydia," also known as Alexis Wright, during which the woman agreed to engage in unspecified sexual conduct for money with the agent. On Feb. 9, police were contacted and met with the landlord of office space at 1 High St., who was renting a suite to Wright. The landlord, who owns several businesses at the 1 High St. location, told police that the tenant below the space rented to Wright observed multiple motor vehicles and men arriving at the location each day, and also reported they stayed for 30 minutes to an hour. The tenant described hearing "a lot of moaning and groaning" throughout the day. The landlord told police that he entered the office space rented by Wright and found a massage table and camcorder located atop a tripod. The landlord also told police that he found a video online of Wright performing a sexual act on herself in the space she was renting at 1 High St., which he recognized by the color of the walls and molding, the hardwood floors and the window.

Police obtained a search warrant based on this information and on Feb. 14 went through the suite at 1 High St., as well as the Pura Vida Studio and Wright's residence at 158 Loop Road in Wells, according to the affidavit.

Police seized electronic data, including several electronic ledgers of sexual acts, hours of video recordings and meticulous records of clients and the sexual acts performed by Wright, according to the affidavit. The document states numerous sexual acts were video recorded, allegedly unbeknownst to the males with whom Wright was having sex.

The police document states that a monetary value was given to each sexual act, depending on the act performed, and police recovered a ledger key, which detailed what type of sexual acts were performed, generating income of approximately $150,000. The electronic data also revealed several online Maine tax return forms submitted by Wright through Turbo Tax.

The investigation revealed the "significant business and personal connection" between Strong and these illegal acts, the affidavit states. Police found bank records highlighting the financial link between Wright and Strong, the document states, as well as insurance documents and telephone records.

The affidavit states police found videos in the investigation of Wright speaking to Strong on the telephone or via Skype prior to a clients' arrivals. In one of those videos, Wright is observed by police providing Strong with drivers' registration numbers and requesting "he run them."

The search warrant also led police to believe that Strong, who is a licensed private investigator with the state of Maine, used the Bureau of Motor Vehicles to query potential clients for Wright and other individuals.

Bee Nguyen, who owns the space at 8 York St., said Wednesday that Strong co-signed Wright's five-year lease for the Zumba studio.

Nguyen said Wright has been behind on her rent and had several times asked for a "second chance." Nguyen said he reached out to Strong about the money owed, and Strong said he would get in touch with Wright.

Kennebunk police said the investigation became so complex the department contacted both the north and south divisions of the Maine State Police's Major Crimes Unit for assistance. In addition to several Maine State Police detectives who assisted, other agencies involved include the Saco Police Department, the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, the U.S. Attorney General's Office, the Maine Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Postal Service.

As information about the investigation has surfaced, some in the Kennebunk community said they were shocked by what was allegedly going on right in the center of town. A nearby local business owner, who wished to remain anonymous, called the situation "disappointing" and "tough," and said it's not what he wants to see happening in the community.

"I just wish someone would put a nice business there that's family-oriented. That's what I'm trying to do," he said. "Instead, we have something like that, that turns people away from this place."

He said classes are still running at Pura Vida, though they are sporadic.

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